Category / Info

The Rosenberg Foundation (rosenbergfound.org) has awarded the Equal Justice Society with a discretionary grant of $15,000 to support EJS’s “Grand Alliance” efforts, specifically the coalition management of the Good Ally Collaborative.

The Good Ally Collaborative (goodally.us) is a network of attorneys and activists that grew out of the “How to Be a Good Ally Strategic Engagement Conference” held on January 6, 2017, in San Francisco.

The conference brought together more than 1,000 participants in response to the post-election climate of rising hate, intimidation, and discrimination. The conference was organized by a team led by Kelly Dermody and Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, and Yolanda Jackson and the Bar Association of San Francisco.

The team at EJS is serving as coordinators of the Good Ally Collaborative, transitioning the Good Ally conference attendees into a 600-member coalition designed to connect skills and resources with needs, intersect with existing movements, and develop solutions to unmet challenges.

EJS’s work with the Good Ally Collaborative is part of its “Grand Alliance” approach, which reflects the organization’s vision of justice that explicitly acknowledges the interconnectedness between various issues, struggles and constituencies.

Since EJS’s founding in 2000, the organization has developed a proud tradition of reaching out to marginalized communities and advocating on behalf of social justice issues that have not always fallen under the racial justice umbrella.

The California Civil Rights Coalition (calcivilrights.org) is also a Grand Alliance effort co-chaired by EJS President Eva Paterson and MALDEF President Thomas A. Saenz. CCRC was founded in 1985 to as a statewide community of civil rights organizations, activists, educators, lawyers, and advocates representing a wide range of issues, working together to create a just and healthy California.

EJS will use the Rosenberg Foundation grant to engage a part-time coalition management contractor. This person will serve as the primary Good Ally Collaborative coordinator, and also develop strategies on how to intersect the Collaborative and the California Civil Rights Coalition.

The Rosenberg Foundation grant is intended to provide short-term support. EJS is seeking matching contributions from institutional or individual donors interested in supporting long-term efforts to sustain and grow the Good Ally Collaborative. Interested donors can contact EJS Director of Development Anna Basallaje at abasallaje@equaljusticesociety.org or 415-288-8700.

Like this:

We are happy to report there is much going on with the California Coalition for Civil Rights:

The CaCCR Steering Committee and others have been working hard to take CaCCR to the next level. In particular, we wish to acknowledge Jamie Studley, Malcolm Yeung, Ellen Buchman, Tom Layton and Tim Silard for their support.

The CaCCR Steering Committee has elected new Co-Chairs! Amy Everitt, State Director of NARAL Pro-Choice California (http://bit.ly/6tFbMU), will serve one year, and Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel of MALDEF (http://bit.ly/6zJzrd), will serve two.

Expansion of Steering Committee and CaCCR Membership: The Steering Committee will soon be expanded to 15 members. A committee has been tasked with recruitment and is looking to increase in size by five members. CaCCR is also looking to expand its general membership particularly in other geographic areas of the state such as the Central Valley, San Diego/Imperial County, Inland Empire and the Sacramento, North Coast and Los Angeles areas.

Equal Justice Society as Project Manager: EJS has been contracted as project manager to help build the capacity of CaCCR. This contract was made possible by the Rosenberg Foundation, Public Interest Projects, Gerbode Foundation and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. CaCCR has contracted Mike Allison to facilitate discussions on governance and building infrastructure.

CaCCR Letter to UC President Mark Yudoff: CaCCR sent a letter to UC Regents and President Mark Yudoff criticizing the new freshman admission policy. Research conducted by the UC itself showed the policy would very likely have a negative impact on the admission of students of color yet the latest summary from UCOP attempted to diminish this fact. Working in collaboration with Henry Der and Vincent Pan, the letter was sent to Yudoff and copied to the ethnic legislative caucuses with 41 signatories!